After studying traditional mural painting and drawing, Ye Linghan gravitated and animation work, though his academic training is evident in his highly detailed drawings and animations, as in Last Experimental Flying Object, which drew him wide attention. He claims, “Direct inspiration comes from individual experience (...)and personal acts. Indirect inspiration comes from signals and information others transmit to me including discussions (...) When I begin a piece of work, I will decide on an overall direction, but I won’t limit myself to too many specific details.” The temporal nature of video compels him and the graphics, craft, material, structure, rhythm, and aesthetic of it take form in its very making. His animations don’t have a strong sense of narrative: the highs and undulating changes inherent in storytelling are absent. Ye’s videos incorporate his drawings, paintings and digital animations, resulting in surreal, three-dimensional loops that focus on both the reduction and the building up of various forms. Recently, he has embarked on a series of paintings, works on paper and videos entitled Lucy. Taking his cue from the first human being discovered and named Lucy, Ye has created a primeval world that recalls oneiric visions of paradises and gardens of Eden. Using an aesthetic reminiscent of late Matisse, he explores primitive shapes of beings and plants in a mixed media that incorporates acrylic, collage and spray paint.
Ye Linghan, born 1985, Lishui, China, studied mural painting and drawing at the China Academy of Art, Hangzhou and lives and works in Beijing. He has exhibited in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Taipei. His work has been exhibited at prestigious museums such as the Minsheng Art Museum, MOCA Shanghai and the Today Art Museum Beijing and has been included in notable group exhibitions around the world.